Poppy turns iPhones into 3D cameras

If you've ever wanted to relive your childhood memories of sitting in the back of your mom's station wagon while flipping through a Viewfinder 3D slide toy, here is your chance. Poppy for iPhone and iPod touch will let you view photos and videos in 3D but will also let you record your own 3D masterpieces.

It works by using mirrors to send two stereographic images to the single camera of an iPhone 4, 4S, iPhone 5 or fifth-generation iPod touch. As you look into the Poppy's viewfinder, the two separate images merge to appear as a single three-dimensional photo or video. Poppy works with any existing photo or video app while its developers work on their own iOS application.

Poppy's Kickstarter campaign has taken off, raising over $25,000 over its $40,000 goal. The early bird $39 special is sold out, but eager buyers can still preorder a Poppy on Kickstarter for $49.

As this is a Kickstarter project, samples are likely to be preliminary while the developers are still fundraising. Perhaps a good comment to leave with them via Kickstarter though as they are looking to appeal to potential users.

The only reason you can buy that "alternative" for just $7 is that it's been discontinued for almost two years, and they're selling it as surplus. You can't even use it with last year's iPhone 5, let alone with the new one that's going to launch in September.

Oh, and my3d has no software other than six anemic games, and no photo viewing software. Which doesn't sound like much of a problem until you realize that a split side-by-side stereo pair can't be zoomed or panned in any meaningful way on an iPhone's stock viewer, and it's harder than heck to even flick through images with the my3d thumb holes.